Ride (12 page)

Cheap hotels he was good at finding. He and the guys had stayed at enough of those. Really nice hotels could be few and far between on the open road, even when he’d had a good enough year to afford staying in one. Luckily, last year had been a very good year and this year hadn’t gone so badly either. He had been in a bit of a sophomore slump in the beginning, but he’d finished strong. He’d made decent money. More than enough to treat Leesa well for the two days he had her with him. Hopefully good enough to convince her to stick around for longer.

Finally Chase saw a sign that looked promising. Heart in his throat just thinking about how close he was to getting Leesa out of this truck and into a hotel room, he flipped on his blinker and pulled from the left lane into the right.

The two miles between the exit sign and the actual turn off seemed to crawl by, but eventually the exit was before him. He followed the hotel-and-food sign at the end of the ramp and turned right onto a route that may have a number as a name, but looked more like a country road. That was fine, as long as it led him to where he wanted to go. That being a place to get decent food for their belly and a nice bed for…other things.

Chase reminded himself that Leesa may not want other things. After a day in the tight confines of the truck with her that would be tough. Just listening to her voice got him hard half the time. Must be one of those Pavlovian things he’d learned about in school. His body associated her voice with extreme pleasure and reacted every time he heard it. Fine with him, though he’d like to experience that pleasure again and not just the constant hard-on.

He wrestled his mind off his bawdy thoughts and started to look for the hotel and food the sign had promised. Eventually he saw what looked like a country inn. He slowed and pulled into the parking lot, eyeing the building suspiciously. These kinds of places were hit or miss. They could be clean and cheap with a charm you didn’t find in the large chain hotels, or they could be run-for-your-life horrible.

It was the kind of place where you parked your vehicle right in front of whatever room you got. There were soda machines under an awning that sheltered the walkway along the building. The more he looked at it, the more he feared this wasn’t the best place for them to stay. If it were him alone, or him, Garret and Skeeter, that would be a totally different story. Hell, they’d slept in the truck in a pinch. But this night had potential to be pretty special and he didn’t want something like cockroaches or a dirty bathroom to ruin it. Even just thinking that put a damper on what had been a pretty happy erection.

He turned in his seat toward Leesa. “What do you think? Should we give it a try?”

She glanced around the parking lot. “There are no other cars here.”

“I know. That worries me a little.”

“It’s fine. Can you go in and get the room? Maybe one in the back. So it’s quiet and we won’t hear the traffic all night long?”

Chase glanced in the rearview mirror at the road in question. There was no traffic. In fact, he’d seen barely a handful of cars on it since getting off the highway. He didn’t question her though, only nodded. “Okay. Whatever you want. You sure you don’t want me to ask if we can see one of the rooms first before we check in?”

“Nope. I’m not picky.”

He laughed. Then she was the only girl in the world who wasn’t. He didn’t say that but nodded. “Sure you don’t want to come inside with me?”

“I’m good. I’ll just wait here.” Her gaze shot to the side mirror before she turned back to him and smiled, an expression that looked forced.

Chase stifled a sigh. In between all his sexual fantasies, he’d forgotten there was something else going on with her. He’d have to devote some time to getting to the bottom of that. At least as much time as he devoted to getting to the bottom of her…so to speak.

“All right. I’ll be right back.” He turned off the ignition, swung his door open and slid out of the driver’s seat. Feeling stiff from sitting for so long, he stretched. The gold of his wedding band caught the light. He wondered how long it took a person to get used to seeing a ring on his finger. Probably longer than he’d be married to Leesa.

With that deadline hanging over his head, Chase walked with renewed energy toward the office and rang the bell on the desk with probably more enthusiasm than necessary.

Chapter Ten

Leesa stabbed her plastic fork into the remaining rice that had come with their Tex-Mex takeout order. “This is really good.”

Chase glanced up from his own Styrofoam box, his white fork looking tiny in his hand. “Yeah.”

She noted his scowl. “You don’t like it?”

“I like it fine, but one day I’d like to eat a meal with you off a real plate with an actual fork.”

“I thought the lack of plates and forks was half the reason you love pizza.”

“Pizza is different.”

If she wasn’t mistaken he was pouting a little. She smiled. “Really, Chase. I’m fine here.”

“I know you are. What I don’t know is why you won’t let me take you out to a real place.”

Besides trying to keep them both alive, she didn’t have a good reason so she skirted the question. “You’ll have real plates and forks to eat off tomorrow when we get to your parents’ house.”

“I guess.” He sneered a bit at that but still managed to look adorable. By the time he got to his last rib from his dinner, it was obvious he’d had enough with the plastic ware. He abandoned the fork and picked up the bone in his hands, tearing a hunk of meat off with his teeth. After he’d swallowed the mouthful, he glanced down at her takeout container and grinned. “I’m glad you liked your fajitas.”

Looking down, she laughed. All that remained of her meal was some parsley garnish. “It was good and I was really hungry.”

“You should have asked me to stop earlier.” This man was determined to feed her.

“I didn’t notice I was hungry until I saw the food.”

“Yeah, I get like that too.”

They had more in common than she would have ever guessed a bull-riding cowboy from Oklahoma and a college dropout turned stripper from the West Coast would ever have. During their road trip she’d discovered they shared the same taste in music—classic rock with some modern country thrown in. They had the same taste in food. Even during the day-long drive, she was just as comfortable riding in silence with him as when they were having a conversation. In fact, considering the situation she’d been fairly relaxed all day, until they’d walked into the room. Then she realized just how small a room seemed when it was filled with Chase and two beds.

Though the fact he’d asked for a room with two beds spoke to exactly how much of a gentleman he really was, which made her want to crawl right into one of those beds with him, that would probably be a bad idea. They were on their way to get a divorce, after which she’d have to figure out where to go and what to do with her life that wouldn’t get her killed.

She smothered a sigh and got up from the desk chair to throw away her container. The room was small enough that Chase could sit on one of the beds and still reach to eat off the desk too.

Leesa noticed he was done also. “I take that.”

He grinned. “Thanks.”

Eating together. Cleaning up after him. Spending the night. Almost like a real couple. She glanced at the beds again, then dragged her gaze away.

The two containers more than filled the tiny trashcan and Leesa was considering taking them outside to the dumpster when she realized she probably shouldn’t be wandering around outside in the open with Jerry’s guys after her. If they could find her in this tiny town they were more talented than she thought, but still, better safe than sorry. She never thought they’d find her at the casino either and look what had happened.

Leesa peeked out the room’s curtains one more time, just to make sure. When she turned back she noticed Chase watching her closely.

“Anything good happening outside?”

“Uh, no. Same old stuff. Dumpster. Your truck. The moon.” She shrugged and tried to look normal.

He nodded. “Good to know.”

Chase rose from his seat on the edge of the bed and walked toward her. With one finger, he moved the curtains slightly and took a look himself. She’d checked enough times herself that she knew he’d see the parking area and the woods beyond. At least she hoped that was all he saw. If a big black car with three guys with guns pulled up, they’d be hard pressed to get out the door without being seen.

She’d have to check out the bathroom window. If it was big enough she could slip out— Chase’s hand on her arm broke into her plans. Leesa glanced up at him.

“You know you can tell me anything.” His face was near enough to hers that she couldn’t avoid his stare.

“Okay.”

Chase shook his head, looking frustrated. “No, don’t say okay and then stay all closed up on me. I’m serious.”

Leesa nodded. “Okay.”

He let out a sigh. “Maybe if I try guessing what’s wrong, you’ll tell me if I’m warm or cold.”

“Nothing’s wrong—”

“Then why have you been checking the parking lot since we got here?” Chase cut her off. “My truck is insured and I don’t think this is a real high-crime neighborhood if that’s what you’re worried about.”

His tone was gentle but she felt the frustration radiating off him. “Sorry.”

He squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds then came back at her with renewed energy. “Is it a relationship you’re running from? An ex? An abusive boyfriend?”

“Chase, no. Stop.”

“Bill collectors?”

“No.” She laughed at that one. They would probably follow soon if she couldn’t figure out how to pay her bills without tipping off Jerry as to where she was hiding.

“Then what?”

“Nothing.”

He stood silently and looking unhappy for a moment. “Okay.”

Leesa waited to see if he was really giving up or just regrouping for another onslaught of questions. What he did instead took her by surprise. His hand came up and touched her face. His thumb gently brushed her lower lip. Her eyes nearly drifted closed from the sensation.

“I’m here when you need me.” His voice was as tender as his touch.

Then in the room that smelled faintly of barbecue sauce and old cigarette smoke, Chase leaned down and kissed her softly. She didn’t want soft. Something inside her snapped and she needed hard. She wanted more.

Leesa balled his shirt up in her fists and her mouth became demanding against his. She pushed him toward the nearest bed until the back of his knees hit the edge and buckled. They tumbled as one onto the ugly hotel comforter.

If she surprised him, he didn’t let on. His hands tangled in her hair. He angled his head and kissed her deeper as his tongue plunged into her mouth. She ended up straddling him, pawing at the buttons on his shirt as he yanked her sweatshirt up. They broke the kiss long enough for him to pull the item over her head. He flung it to the side.

Their mouths crashed together again in an attempt to satisfy the need that had been building between them all day.

She yanked his shirt from where it had been tightly tucked into his belt, while his hands worked their way up her back beneath her T-shirt. She felt her bra release and moaned. He echoed the sound as her shirt went flying in the same direction her sweatshirt had.

Chase wasn’t so shy after all and she liked it. He was hard against her jean-covered thigh. She released his belt for the second time since she’d known him and undid his pants. She felt again the hard, silky length of him. She wanted to feel it so many other places than just her hand.

His eyes closed as she released him from his boxer shorts. Breathless, he panted beneath her. “My boots.”

She glanced down and realized he’d be trapped in his jeans until they took his boots off. She wanted to see every inch of him. It was going to be something worth seeing from the glimpses she’d gotten already.

Topless but still in her own jeans, Leesa crawled off him. She’d never undressed a man completely before, but she supposed it was a lot like doing a striptease, only on him instead of herself. Of course, that didn’t mean she couldn’t strip too. While watching the hungry expression on his face, she ran her fingers down her body. His eyes remained focused on the motion as she unbuttoned her pants, then slid the zipper down slowly.

She managed to toe off her sneakers while swaying her hips, easing her jeans down ever so slowly. Chase swallowed hard, licking his lips like she’d seen him do before, but this time, the expression on his face was different. Unlike when he was on stage and she could sense his nerves and uncertainty, tonight he looked like a man who knew exactly what was going to happen, and he liked it.

Leesa stepped out of her jeans and swayed before him in nothing but thong underwear. She turned around and let him watch her from behind as she slid those off too. That was it. No high heels, no garters or costume, no makeup or stage lights. Just her, naked before him. She turned to see what he thought of her without all the show biz magic. As his gaze swept her body, pausing at her waxed bikini area, his expression told her he liked it just fine.

He sat up and moved toward her. She held her hand up to stop him. “No not yet. Now it’s your turn.”

His eyebrows rose, but he leaned back on his elbows on the bed.

Kneeling below him, Leesa took one foot in her hand. She slid his boot off slowly, taking the sock with it. She had no intention of making love to a man wearing socks. His cowboy hat he could wear, if he wanted to. Hell, maybe she would wear it as she rode him.

She shocked herself at that thought. How easy it was to be with him. Natural. Hot.

Her core seemed to be warming the rest of her body from the inside out. The other boot and sock followed the first and not so slowly this time. Then she crawled up his legs, touching as much of him as she could while she worked her way to the waist of his jeans.

Thanks to his rather large erection and very thin boxers equipped with the usual open fly, he was mostly exposed already, but she wanted the jeans gone. The boxers too.

He lifted his pelvis to help her as she wiggled his jeans over his narrow hips and down what proved to be pretty impressively muscular thighs.